A “Food and Non-Alcoholic Drink” Festival For Me! Aug. 30-Sept. 6, 2017! *COMPLETED 10/1/17*

Pandora at night is beautiful. It helps if you can find a place to sit and take it all in. I spent many nights of my summer trip alone in Pandora just sitting around between rides and taking in the details.
 
Can't believe you waited for FoP that long. I probably would have bailed at some point. I share your love for AK of course so the rest of your day looked awesome. Tiffins is simply amazing.
 
wnwardii said:
I know what you mean. When I ate at Tiffins, I ordered the duo of venison. In looking at the picture I have, the venison was literally on less than 1/4th of the circular plate. The rest of the plate was empty. I am all for "presentation", but this is going a little extreme in my opinion.
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I agree with you as well. I am all about presentation. There is just a huge difference between here and a place like Flying Fish. Flying Fish includes the presentation, but also has more on the plate for you to eat.
 


Capang said:
Pandora at night is beautiful. It helps if you can find a place to sit and take it all in. I spent many nights of my summer trip alone in Pandora just sitting around between rides and taking in the details.
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I agree. I really like how the animal noise becomes more prominent at night.

The only thing I really don't like about Pandora at night is I don't have a camera that can capture it really well.
 
rteetz said:
Can't believe you waited for FoP that long. I probably would have bailed at some point. I share your love for AK of course so the rest of your day looked awesome. Tiffins is simply amazing.
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I can't believe I did it either. I think what helped is when i still lived in California during the 60th Anniversary of Disneyland, I would sit on the curb for 4 hours and wait for Paint the Night. So, I think I'm just used to it.
 


AMusicLifeForMe said:
I agree. I really like how the animal noise becomes more prominent at night.

The only thing I really don't like about Pandora at night is I don't have a camera that can capture it really well.
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I totally forgot about the animal noises! One night it was drizzling and it sounded like banshee were dive bombing it was so loud.
 
Capang said:
I totally forgot about the animal noises! One night it was drizzling and it sounded like banshee were dive bombing it was so loud.
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The sounds are supposed to be different based on the weather as well. I haven't been in there when it was raining so that would probably be really cool to hear.
 
So, I have some good news and some bad news.

Bad News: My next update won't be out until tomorrow. :D

Good News: It's a really long story. I'm not going to get into the reason why, but I will be at Walt Disney World again next week. It is a solo trip for me. If you see me, feel free to say hi. I want to say that I am doing some extras on this trip that I have never done before that I am really excited about along with many extras I have done before. With all of the bonus extras that I have booked, I feel like I will do a separate trip report. Stay tuned to this trip report for when my next trip report goes LIVE! :)

With the announcement of this trip, I promise I will get through Day 7 by the time my next trip comes around. :)
 
Day 5: Good Morning From Hollywood!​

It was my 5th day at Walt Disney World which meant that it was time to go to Disney’s Hollywood Studios for the first time on this trip!

I would begin my morning by deciding to take a Lyft again. That was only because I would wake up later than I wanted to. It is also important to note that you might get on a bus at an All-Star Resort and still travel to the other 2 All-Star Resorts before heading to the park. That can take up a lot of time. It was also an Early Morning Magic Hour at Disney’s Hollywood Studios so I wanted to take advantage of that.

I would end up getting into the park 10 minutes after the Extra Magic Hour started.



I decided to start big and ride Rock N’ Rollercoaster first. When I arrived at the attraction, I was amazed. It was already a 30 minute wait. The line was practically going outside the queue. So, for the first time ever, I found myself going in the single rider line during Extra Magic Hours.



Rock N’ Rollercoaster is one of my favorite attractions at Walt Disney World. My only complaint about it seems to always be that it is to short for me. I wish it was just a little longer or have a little bit more thrill. Yes, I know there are several points you go upside down, but I find there to be a lot of “dead” time where the drops aren’t necessary or interesting. I might be the only one that feels that way, but I put this launch rollercoaster 2nd behind California Screamin at Disney California Adventure.



Up next, it was time to ride one of my favorite attractions. That is the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror! I am still very upset that Disney decided to get rid of this attraction at Disney California Adventure for an attraction based on a movie franchise that I am not a fan of (Guardians of the Galaxy). I am not a Marvel fan in general. Anyways, the attraction at Disney’s Hollywood Studios was always far superior than the one at Disney California Adventure, so I’m glad this one is still around.

I walked up and the wait time was 13 minutes. The very classic wait time for this attraction when there is basically no wait. :)



I really love the theming of the queue.



So, I would drop to a new dimension and somehow return back to Earth all within a few minutes!

I was off to my next adventure!



I would arrive at Galaxy, far, far, away! Well, mostly to just get pictures with Star Wars characters. I would end up getting pictures with Kylo Ren and BB-8 since they had the shortest wait.







After some time in the Star Wars: Launch Bay, I spotted posters for Star Wars: The Last Jedi on the side of one of the building! I can’t wait for December!



After getting pictures with my favorite Star Wars characters, it was time for me to leave Disney’s Hollywood Studios. I would be making my way to EPCOT via the Friendship Boats, and I would be ready for my 2nd day at the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival!
 
Day 5: My 2nd Day at the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival!​

After a great morning at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, I arrived at the International Gateway entrance to EPCOT for another day of the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival!

This would also be a very interesting day at EPCOT for me that would begin right away.



I hope all of you are ready for a story!

Since World Showcase wasn’t technically open yet, I began making my way to Future World to use a fastpass and get started on my day. As I was walking by the Canada Pavilion, I was walking by one of the Food & Wine Booths and saw the cast members getting ready for a busy day. I was walking pretty far to the right of the pathway so there was really no guests on my right side. All of a sudden, as I was walking by the Scotland booth, I heard a very loud "F*** THAT!” Then I heard someone else say “YEAH!” Both of these came to my right. Well, I looked to my right and there were two cast members. I immediately knew where I heard it from which then prompted me to find a manager. Why? Well, as a huge Disney Park fan, I know that offensive language is not to be used by Cast Members especially when there are guests around. It took me a couple minutes to find one, and I explained what happened. The Manager was very acknowledgeable for me telling them what had happened and would get on it right away.

You might wonder why I found this important to share…
1) These were mostly all College Program cast members that just started working there 3 days prior.
2) I have never heard a Cast Member use offensive language ever in my long history of going to Disney Theme Parks.

Now, after all of that, I finally made it to my first fastpass of the day which would be Journey Into Imagination with Figment. I do like the ride, but it has to be the cheesiest ride in all of the 4 Walt Disney World Theme Parks. Maybe including the Disneyland Resort as well.





Just seeing those pictures again has put the song stuck in my head.

“One little spark, of inspiration
Is at the heart, of all creation.
Right at the start, of everything that's new.
One little spark, lights up for you.

Imagination, imagination.
A dream, can be a dream come true.
With just that spark, in me and you.”

Now that I’m done singing that cheesy song, lets get back to the rest of my report.

My next stop would be the Light Lab!



The Light Lab I think is a new location for Food & Wine this year. it is mostly drinks I believe, but I did notice they had a doughnut. I have heard the doughnut has been getting mixed reviews, but I did not try it. I would end up getting my 2nd non-alcoholic beverage called the RGB.



I thought the drink was good. I was surprised with how sweet it actually was, but I was aware with the drink having kiwi in it. Overall, I wouldn’t get the drink again, but I thought it was refreshing especially with how hot it already was at that time of the day.

I found the location to be like a futuristic retro style which I thought was pretty cool.





At this point I would be meeting up with my friends (@lucas and her husband) again. My Dad would also finally join me as well. @Lucas…I realized we never got a picture while we were at EPCOT.

We would begin our round of Food & Wine Booths!



Our first stop would be the Farm Fresh Booth.



This is where I would try the Crispy Chicken. This dish with the gravy and cornbread is one of the best items I had at Food & Wine. I would put it up there as my 2nd favorite food item behind the Mac N’ Cheese at the Active Eats Booth. This was really good, and I liked the portion size.



Our next stop would be the Thailand Booth. I am a fan of Asian cuisine, so I was really excited to try this booth.



I would end up getting the Red Hot Spicy Thai Curry Beef. This was very good. One of my favorite dishes of the trip. It wasn’t as spicy as the Cast Member made it out to be. The spice was very manageable if you like spicy food. It did have a kick towards the end as I kept eating it, but I would easily get it again. It was also 90+ degrees outside, so something hot and spicy just seemed to counteract with how the weather was.



I would then stop at the booth of my favorite cuisine, China!



This is where I would try the Spicy Chicken and the Chicken Pot Stickers. Sadly, I forgot to take pictures of these items because of how crazy the area was and just got to eating. I liked the pot stickers a lot. They are really just normal pot stickers that you could find at any of your local Chinese restaurants. The spicy chicken I found interesting. It wasn’t necessarily the typical Chinese dish I would expect, but I thought it was ok. I probably wouldn’t get that again though.

Our next stop would be Germany!



This is where I would order my only dessert at a Food & Wine Booth this trip. That would be the Apple Strudel! I am not much of a dessert eater, but I wasn’t a fan of this apple strudel. I have had much better apple strudels at different Disney locations. So, I was very disappointed in this dish.



I would go to another booth later in the day, but at this point, we would say goodbye to our friends (@lucas and her husband) as they would be making their way over to another park.

My Dad and I would then make our way to relax for a little bit at the Disney Vacation Club Lounge! Here is where DVC members can get free coke products, and DVC Cast Members eventually come around and give free snacks as well. It was a great place to relax in air conditioning for a while.



Next, I would leave and make my way to the American Adventure Pavilion.

If you ever wonder what crowds for the Food & Wine Festival are like on a weekend, here you go:





I would arrive at the American Adventure Pavilion and enjoy a great afternoon of several Voices of Liberty performances! They are by far my favorite thing to see and listen to at the Walt Disney World Resort. Also, towards the end of the day, if there is a special event inside the American Adventure building, the Voices of Liberty will sing a set outside.





After a great afternoon of Voices of Liberty performances, it was time to try my last Food & Wine Booth of the day as I made my way to our next fastpass! I would try the Flavors from Fire Booth!



I would end up ordering the Piggy Wings. These were definitely bigger than I thought they would be. It was a nice portion, and I thought they were delicious. I liked the sauce that they used. I would get these again since I thought they were worth the price for what you get.



Up next was Living with the Land. My Dad and I had a fastpass for this attraction, but I would like to point out that this had a 40 minute stand-by wait. It had been years since I have seen this attraction have that long of a wait.



Right after Living with the Land, we had a fastpass for Soarin Around the World!



I still prefer the previous Soarin Over California video than the new version of the attraction. I wish Disney would have kept the California film (or updated it) at Disney California Adventure and just had the Around the World film at EPCOT. I feel like it would fit much better with the theming of the two parks that way.

After traveling around the world, my Dad and I made our way to the France Pavilion to try a new restaurant for us!



My Dad and I would be trying Les Chefs de France for the first time.



My first impressions of the restaurant was that I liked the decor, but I found it the restaurant to be very loud. This restaurant is probably the loudest restaurant I have ever been in on Walt Disney World property. It was so loud that my Dad and I couldn’t have a conversation across the table. It was also beginning to give me a headache that I then found it very difficult to enjoy my food.

The seating of the restaurant is also very close together. It’s almost like you can have a decent conversation with your neighbors.





So, I would end up ordering the lobster bisque as an appetizer. I thought it was really good. I really enjoyed it. Is it the best lobster bisque I have had? Probably not, but it was still a good choice for an appetizer.



For my entree, I would end up ordering the Boeuf Bourguignon, linguine which was basically beef braised in Cabarnet with baby onions, carrots, and served with linguine pasta. I found the dish to be really good, but due to the loudness of the restaurant giving me a headache, I found it very difficult to enjoy this dish.



After an interesting meal at a restaurant I probably won’t go back to, it was time for my to find a spot for Illuminations: Reflections of Earth. I made my way over to one of my favorite locations to watch the show which is the Italy Pavilion. I would then enjoy my favorite nighttime show at Walt Disney World before heading to the bus stop.







Who is ready for another story! :D

After I exited EPCOT, I began walking to the the bus stop for All-Star Music. As I approached the queue for the bus, I began to see a lady and a guy begin to talk loudly. From a distance it seemed like they were just friends having a good time, but as I approached them within 5 yards away, the lady began to really get into this guys face. Now, I could tell the guy was drunk, and the girl had definitely had a few drinks. Basically all I heard was, “Don’t touch my friend you *(word I can’t type on this website).” People began to jump queue ropes to try and stop these two from going at it. Security was called. All of this happening within 5 yards of me, because there was no way I was walking past it to get in my queue line. The friends of the girl causing the scene were holding her back while she decided to yell every cuss word in the book. All of this happening in front of a lot of kids. So, finally the area became clear and I got in my queue while saying, “Welcome to the Food & Wine Festival everyone.” Everyone in the area laughed at my comment.

This is when I am going to say something as a warning to any of you that might be going to the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival and choose to drink alcohol. Please drink responsibly!!! Please keep a count of how many alcoholic drinks you are actually drinking. The amount of people I saw having to be held by their friends on this trip just going around the Food & Wine Festival was a little to much. I know there are a lot of people that go to this festival to have a good time, but there are many of us (like me) that don’t want to see anyone drunk causing a scene. That was probably the closest I have ever been to seeing an actual fight at a Disney Theme Park.

So, in the span of a day, I witnessed a Cast Member say a cuss word, and I witnessed a very close fight. I think I had a weird enough day that I was really looking forward to my next day at Walt Disney World. I would finally get on the bus to All-Star Music and enjoy a nice relaxing evening as I anticipated another day in the parks ahead of me.
 
First, great pic with Kylo!

And, I've been meaning to ask, how is taking the Minnie Van? They are so darn cute! I kept trying to get a pic of one of them. Who ever thought of calling them a Minnie Van and decorating them like that is a Marketing genius!

Wow! What a day - a fight first thing and last thing! And, your comment “Welcome to the Food & Wine Festival everyone” just cracked me up!

Too bad about us not getting a pic at Epcot. I thought about it a few times that day, but never found the right moment.

And, looking at your pics of the crowds that day, I definitely don't remember it being that crowded!?! Maybe it got more crowded later in the day, after dh and I went to HS? Or, maybe because you are so tall, you see more of what is coming? That is definitely not the view I had. Ha ha! :laughing:

BTW, your Boeuf Bourguignon looks delish! Yum!
 
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wow just wow. Not your typical Disney day. Good for you for reporting the bad behavior. After the crowds and drunkenness we have seen during the festival (which I love by the way ), we now avoid weekends if at all possible.
 
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